The focus of the my Treescapes Fellowship was to identify large wych elm survivors that may possess some sort of resilience against Dutch elm disease (DED): either the beetle, or the fungus, or maybe both. These would be trees with a girth of two metres and above. If an adult cannot hug the stem (trunk) all the way around, it’s in!
Leaf samples were genetically tested, and new growth and older growth cuttings were collected for propagation. I also sampled trees with DED – either already dead or dying – to compare the genetics of the survivors and those susceptible to the disease. The project had an overall aim to track the spread of DED, trying to understand where elm is thriving and what factors may enhance survival, and genetically linking and cross-pollinating different populations of elm.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have been cross-pollinating surviving elm trees from the Scottish Borders to plant out into the landscape, and we are aiming to do something similar in the Highlands to increase genetic diversity and local adaptability (provenances).